President Trump Accuses Abbas of Lying

On Sunday, May 28, Israeli television reported that President Donald Trump engaged in a verbal conflict with President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, accusing Abbas of lying.  He voiced to Abbas, “You lied to me in Washington when you talked about commitment to peace, but the Israelis showed me you were personally responsible for incitement.”  First meeting each other on Friday, May 5, in Washington, they met just again last Tuesday. However, other sources claim that the meeting between the two was not intense and heated, but instead calm.

Following the meeting on Tuesday, Trump spoke to the public regarding the subject of terrorism, highlighting that terrorism must not be “rewarded”—saying this, he criticized the Palestinian government’s constant “support to the families of terrorists who were killed or imprisoned.”

This speech came as a result of controversy over a women’s center in Burqa.  The women’s center was dedicated to Dalal Mughrabi by the Palestinians, who initiated a terrorist attack that left 35 Israeli civilians dead and an additional 70 wounded.  Built with Norwegian donated money, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry demanded that their logo be removed from the center as well as the money returned, following the attack.

            Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende noted that, “The glorification of terrorist attacks is completely unacceptable, and I deplore this decision in the strongest possible terms.  Norway will not allow itself to be associated with institutions that take the names of terrorists in this way.  We will not accept the use of Norwegian aid funding for such purposes.”  Israel, praising Norway, responded by saying, “Norway took the right step.  A firm stance against eh commemoration of terrorists is an integral part of the international effort to eradicate terrorism.  We recommend that the international community thoroughly check where their money is invested in the Palestinian Authority and we expect all project partners to act as Norway did.”

Marcy Kreiter of International Business Times writes, “A poll taken for the Jerusalem Post after Trump’s visit indicated 49 percent of Palestinians said they now support restarting peace talks with Israel, which broke down three years ago.  The poll of 500 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza by the Arab World for Research and Development, a Ramallah research institute, said the poll indicated a slight increase in support compared to previous surveys.  Forty-five percent of those surveyed, however, said they didn’t think Trump would be able to forge a deal.”

Withdrawing its support from the women’s center, the United Nations dubbed the consecration as an “offensive” piece to many and respectfully requested their logo be removed from the dedication.  Local Palestinians who have described Mughrabi as a martyr honor her along with other terrorists in a series of scheduled events at the center.

The United Nations expresses that, “The glorification of terrorism, or the perpetrators of heinous terrorist acts, is unacceptable under any circumstances.  The U.N. has repeatedly called for an end to incitement to violence and hatred as they present one of the obstacles to peace.”